Subject Jenova A
by Sephirotha
Summary: "Mine." He couldn't describe this sudden possessiveness over the sleeping girl in his arms. He just felt that it was right and that her company was what he wanted. "She is mine."
1. Chapter 1

When Sephiroth entered his bedroom after a long tiring day of training, experimenting and paperwork, he tried to force back a groan. It was a failed attempt as he rolled his eyes and closed the door. Sitting on the bed was a young girl, nude and huddled up with her knees to her chest. She turned her head at the sound of the door closing and began shivering as she turned away. Sephiroth pinched his nose. This had been going on for six months now. Hojo had been getting him to have sexual intercourse with all sorts of people. From middle-aged women to young men, Sephiroth had given up his sperm to people for Hojo to monitor and study. None of them had become pregnant, but Hojo still persisted in getting Sephiroth children so they could extend this project that was based around him. This whole thing had started after Sephiroth had turned sixteen.

Shaking his head and walking over, he shed his coat and hung it up on the coat peg by the mirror. He glowered at his own reflection and glowered to what was behind it. He knew it was a one-way window for Hojo and his assistants to study his sexual behaviour and he hated it. It was an invasion of the little privacy that he had. He had to move to this bedroom at Hojo's demand, just so they could study him further now that he was putting his sex organs to use.

Turning to the girl, he pulled his pauldrons off and cast them onto the floor. He sat next to her in just his trousers and she scooted away from him. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. He hadn't had a reaction like that before. Usually the person would have jumped on him and rip the rest of his garments off. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. She flinched at the contact and Sephiroth grasped her shoulder tightly. Her skin was firmer than any skin he had felt before in his life and she was as cold as liquid nitrogen. This wasn't a person who was here because he or she was paid or they wanted to be here for their love of science. And Sephiroth could tell that she was not shivering because she was cold, she was shivering because she was afraid.

"How old are you?" he asked.

The girl flinched and she turned, her shivers becoming slightly more violent.

"I…think I'm…this…I…"

Sephiroth waited patiently for her reply while he looked at her more closely. She had long thick, brown hair that covered her back completely and her skin was as pale as snow. He couldn't see her face yet as she stumbled for words.

"…They told me that…I was…twelve today. Y-Yesterday I-I-I was eleven…"

Sephiroth's eyes widened as disgust curled up in his stomach and he glared at the mirror. This girl was the youngest that they had ever sent him. It had always been people who were older than him, not younger. His arm slid around her shoulders and she curled herself tighter as he brought her close to his bare chest.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"N-Name?"

She looked away.

"Uh…well…I'm called Subject J-Jenova A…"

Sephiroth's interest was caught at the mention of his mother's name.

"A-And…I…I'm the only one wh-who's alive n-now. A-All of the…others d-died…"

So there were others who were named 'Subject Jenova'. Sephiroth tilted his head and grabbed her chin. Subject Jenova A flinched as he turned her face towards him. He brushed her large fringe over her eyes to reveal bright red eyes, sharp and piercing as if they were staring straight through him. Her face, apart from that, seemed perfectly normal.

"So you were born and raised in the labs as well?" he asked.

"Taken."

Sephiroth was taken aback as the girl spoke. A long cylindrical dark red forked tongue flickered out when she spoke.

"Taken from m-my family," she said "At the t-tender age of two years."

Sephiroth's eyes snapped back to hers after he watched her tongue while she spoke.

"They gave that to you I presume?" he asked as he pointed to it.

"Yes."

Subject Jenova A covered her mouth after her tongue retreated back into it. Sephiroth's hand dropped to her waist and she let out a shriek.

"_No!_"

Sephiroth watched as she jumped back to the centre of the bed, her tongue flickering in and out frantically.

"I'm not ready for intercourse!" she shouted "I don't want this, please! I'm not ready!"

Sephiroth didn't really want to go through with the intercourse himself. He grabbed her arms, much to her displeasure and pinned her down, settling his legs on hers. His eyes widened at her developing body. Her breasts were just starting to show but her nipples were white like snow. She was very thin; she can't have been fed very much during her time in the labs. And dark blue spots were dotted around her thighs which made Sephiroth more curious about her. Sephiroth brushed his hand along them intriguingly, feeling how they were warmer than any part of her body. He retracted his hand as Subject Jenova A made a sound in between a giggle and a shout while kicking impulsively. He gently parted her thighs to take a look at her womanhood.

It was normal like what he had seen with past experiences with other women. But something did not feel right. Subject Jenova A's body was still trembling as she stopped her shouting, indicating that she had finally calmed down a bit more. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed as he gently parted her undeveloped folds to examine her further. Tilting her so he could see in the light, he withdrew his face abruptly when he saw blue skin inside her.

"They've been inside your body?" he said.

"N-No…"

Sephiroth released her and sat up, letting her curl up into a tight ball.

"They opened me up one time," she said, her tongue flickering out and licking her own tears away "They pulled out stuff from me then put other things back in. It was horrible…"

Sephiroth suddenly felt a tug in his heart. His head began to think different things. Should he just go through with the intercourse? No, it didn't feel right to just take her now. What did feel right then? Sephiroth continued staring at her before gathering her up in his arms. She let out a squeak as he pulled the covers over them and covered her mouth. Her eyes were the only source of light as Sephiroth embraced her tenderly.

"Go to sleep."

Subject Jenova A looked up at him confused and he tucked her head under his chin. Sephiroth was used to temperatures like her body temperature, so he didn't mind sharing his body heat with her. He rubbed his hands up and down her back soothingly, kissing her temple because it felt right. Eventually, her eyes closed themselves and she hugged him tightly, as if she never wanted to let go. Sephiroth felt like he didn't want her to let go. Something told him that he had to protect her. Something told him that he wanted to keep her. Closing his eyes, he eventually dropped off to sleep.

* * *

That morning Sephiroth's eyes flew open once he felt hands trying to pry away Subject Jenova A away from his arms. He lashed out, causing the scientists around them to jump back. His hand grabbed the nearest scientist's neck and he glowered at the crowd around the bed and while holding the young girl closer to him.

"Mine," he snarled.

"Excuse me, Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth's eyes turned to the speaker and he glared at Hojo who was standing at the foot of the bed. He couldn't describe this sudden possessiveness over the sleeping girl in his arms. He just felt that it was right and that her company was what he wanted. Releasing the scientist in his grasp, Sephiroth used both arms to hold the girl close to him.

"She is mine."


	2. Chapter 2

Sephiroth entered his bedroom and sighed in relief that it was finally the end of the day.

"Hi, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth opened his eyes and caught the young teenage girl in his arms as she hugged him.

"Hi, Anne," he responded her greeting.

After he convinced Hojo that he could keep Subject Jenova A with him, Sephiroth had looked up names that began with A. It was hard when he went onto a computer and came up with a list of names. Subject Jenova A didn't know how to read so he read them out loud for her. But with every name she just nodded, not really understanding what names were supposed to be for. Sephiroth was not comfortable with calling her 'Subject Jenova A' because, one, it was too long and two, it just didn't feel right to call her his mother's name. It took them around about half an hour to decide what kind of name to give her…

**Four years ago…**

"How about Alice?" Sephiroth suggested as Subject Jenova A wore his shirt which was far too large for her.

He turned to look at her and she just nodded.

"Alice…"

He looked at her with a frown. …Nope, it didn't seem to fit.

"I don't think it suits you," he said.

Subject Jenova A tilted her head.

"Alice."

Sephiroth was starting to get used with the tongue but it was still unexpected. Subject Jenova A frowned.

"I like it."

"It doesn't suit you," Sephiroth said then pointed to the mirror "Say it at yourself."

Subject Jenova A turned to the mirror obediently.

"Alice."

She yelped and jumped backwards, onto the bed. Sephiroth stood up and walked over.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Subject Jenova A covered her mouth.

"I didn't know my t-tongue was that hideous," she murmured.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"You have never seen your tongue before?" he asked.

Subject Jenova A shook her head.

"I found out that I had it…I don't know when but I never saw myself in the mirror."

Sephiroth gently got her back to her feet so they were in front of the mirror. He ignored the fact that it was a one way window and focused on Subject Jenova A's reflection. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders and stood behind her.

"Say it again," he instructed.

"Al-Alice…"

Subject Jenova A flinched and looked away, covering her mouth.

"You're right, it doesn't suit me," she said quickly.

Sephiroth sighed and let her go, not really knowing how to get her over her fear of her own tongue. …Best leave that for another day, Sephiroth didn't have much time left until he had to go for a training session. He went in front of his computer and looked down the list more.

"Arianna?" he suggested.

"Arianna?" Subject Jenova A mimicked "I don't like it."

"Abigail?"

Sephiroth turned and looked at her.

"Abigail…it doesn't suit you either," he concluded and turned to the computer monitor.

"Why do all the names I like not suit me?" Subject Jenova A asked curiously.

"We will find one that does, don't worry," Sephiroth assured her "Amelia?"

"I don't like that."

Sephiroth read name after name and it was usually the same. He would think it would suit her but she wouldn't like it. Then when he didn't think it suit her, she liked it. It became very frustrating and eventually they only have five minutes left until Sephiroth had to go.

"What about Amber?"

"You've said that one before," Subject Jenova A hissed in irritation.

"…Well which ones did you like before?"

"I like, Abigail, Alice, Arielle, Annabelle, Annalisa, Anastasia…"

"Anne?"

Subject Jenova A perked up.

"I liked that one too," she said.

"I never said it," Sephiroth said with a raised eyebrow "but it's a shortened version of the last three names you said."

Subject Jenova A smiled.

"Anne," she said "Is that my name now?"

"Yes it is," Sephiroth said and glanced at the time "And I am going to be late."

He got up and froze. What was he supposed to do with her now? She can't come with him for training and he certainly can't leave her here where Hojo can grab her.

"What usually happens in your daily life?" he asked her as he grabbed his coat and put it on.

"I have a drip to give me my food and water whenever the scientists go out to eat," Anne began to list her habits "If I'm not having my daily health check or having something done to me, I usually drew on my cell walls…"

"Can you not eat normal food?" Sephiroth asked with a frown.

"It comes back up."

Sephiroth growled in frustration. She was made to be dependent on the science labs.

"…I'm afraid the best solution would be to take you back to the labs during my work hours," he said.

Anne blinked at him unfazed.

"OK," she said swinging her hands behind her back.

Sephiroth was taken aback. He hated the labs but she didn't seem to mind at all!

"Does it not bother you?" he asked.

Anne frowned.

"Bother?" she asked tilting her head to the side.

"Are you not…never mind, I'm late."

Sephiroth grabbed her by the wrist and led her out of the bedroom.

**Back to the present…**

Sephiroth ruffled Anne's hair softly.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Tiring," she responded "There was a mix-up of my food and I nearly fell ill."

"Really now?" Sephiroth's brow twitched in annoyance.

Damn lab assistants, he never liked them due to their clumsiness and their unawareness of what to do.

"It wasn't that serious," Anne placed a hand on his chest.

Sephiroth placed a hand over hers and sat down on the bed with her. He looked into her eyes as she began to talk about something to do with her favourite dress. He felt strange around her. His heart would quicken its pace by just the mere thought of her. The hours would seem terribly long if he was longing to see her at the end of the day. It was foreign to Sephiroth.

"So I decided to give it a green touch to it with the pens you gave to me."

Sephiroth's reverie was broken as she pulled her hand away and ran up to the wardrobe. She pulled out the white dress he had given her for her fifteenth birthday. Neatly drawn thick lines zigzagged along the bottom and Sephiroth briefly remembered the issue about clothing for her.

**Four years ago…**

"So this is all you wear then?" Sephiroth asked as he lifted the turquoise gown that Anne had to wear to cover her nudity.

Anne nodded.

"It doesn't keep me very warm though," she murmured.

No way it didn't, it was big enough for drafts to go up the gown and make her cold.

"I'll find you more clothes to wear to keep you warm," Sephiroth decided "What kind of clothes would you like?"

"Kind?"

Anne frowned.

"Uh…" she murmured and looked down blankly "Anything that's white? I like white."

Oh that narrowed Sephiroth's search for clothes down alright! Sephiroth sighed.

"White and warm," he murmured "OK, I'll…find something."

Anne hugged him suddenly, catching him off guard. She leaned her ear against his chest and Sephiroth briefly checked the time.

"I'll be late."

"You're nice."

Sephiroth looked down and awkwardly put his arms around her to return the hug.

"I need to go," he said.

"When will you be back?" Anne asked as she looked up at him.

"Soon."

Sephiroth gently pushed her away and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"I'll come with clothes for you to try on," he told her.

Anne nodded as a lab assistant grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her off to have her morning drip injected into her. Sephiroth watched before marching out of the science labs before Hojo could spot him. As he walked over to the elevator, he couldn't help but feel like something had been taken away from him. Like a part of him was stolen away. He felt protective over Anne, but why? Why her and no-one else? Sephiroth shook his head to try and clear his head. Anne would prove to be a weakness now. But for some reason, Sephiroth didn't mind.

**Back to the present…**

"It looks nice," Sephiroth smiled softly.

Anne grinned and she leaned down to lick his cheek affectionately. It was a habit of hers to say thank you to him and Sephiroth got used to it after a while. Sephiroth yawned and stretched his limbs out.

"I have a present," he said.

Anne blinked and tilted her head questioningly. Sephiroth pulled out a box from his coat pocket and opened it to reveal a pearl necklace for her. Anne blinked again, even more confused.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's something to go around your neck," Sephiroth replied as he pulled it out and went behind her "It's to go with your dress."

When he clasped the necklace on he turned her to face the mirror. Anne lifted her hand to touch it in wonder.

"Which dress?" she asked.

"Any."

Anne held her customised dress against her and sighed.

"I don't think this one will do," she said honestly "The green doesn't suit with the…"

She gestured to the necklace. Sephiroth smiled. Anne was very creative. Sephiroth didn't know what inspired her but she loved to draw. She drew on anything if she had a pen or pencil. And when she was out of paper, she would draw on the walls like a little child would. Sephiroth suspected that white was her favourite colour because she loved to draw on her clothes too. Sephiroth yawned again and Anne smiled.

"I want to go to sleep," she said to the reflection, her tongue flickering out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

Her tongue did anything she wanted. Sephiroth didn't exactly have a tape measure but he estimated that tongue to be about fifty centimetres. It was long and it would always flicker out like a snake whenever she spoke. It also acted as a hand if Anne got hand cramps from drawing too much. Sephiroth shrugged his coat off and took the necklace off her.

"Get into your night clothes then," he said as he took the rest of his clothes off.

He opened the wardrobe and went to his side to get a pair of black pants that he usually wore when they slept. Sephiroth and Anne agreed that they were more comfortable to sleep in the same bed rather than in separate ones. It just felt right. They didn't feel awkward about anything at all when around each other. They didn't even feel awkward when they would both be naked when changing, though Anne was still jumpy about the fact she was supposed to have had sexual intercourse with him.

Anne slipped into a nightgown before diving under the covers. Another habit she had. She loved being under the covers for some reason. It was probably related to their first encounter but Sephiroth shrugged it off. He peeled back the covers and slid into the bed, grabbing Anne and hugging her. Anne hugged him back and snuggled herself into him. Sephiroth tucked her head underneath his chin and stared at the mirror after turning the light off. He closed his eyes eventually and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Sephiroth's eyes flew open when he felt hands grab him. He sat up, about to attack whoever had woken him but found Anne clutching onto him, shaking him. She didn't look well, especially because her whole body was covered in a sheet of sweat. Her eyes were aflame and she was panting heavily.

"Sephiroth…" she breathed, her cheeks flushed.

Sephiroth pressed his hand to her forehead. Her temperature was higher than normal. He trailed his fingers to her neck. Pulse rate was significantly quicker…

"How are you feeling?" he asked, cupping her cheeks.

He froze when he felt things poking his trousers and a hand pressed itself to his crotch. He slowly looked down and saw that blue tentacles had come out of where the blue spots on her thighs were and some of then were pointing at her, now very and extremely, wet opening.

"I…I want to mate with you…" Anne murmured as she hugged him "I…"

Sephiroth grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her away.

"Anne, are you sure?" he asked.

"I'm very sure…"

Anne's tongue flickered out of her mouth and dragged itself up his cheek.

"Please…" she whimpered, nuzzling him softly.

Sephiroth bit his lip. He wanted to engage intercourse with her too but he didn't really want to do it if she was under Hojo's control or anything. It was possible for Hojo to have drugged her or done something to make her feel like this.

"Anne…"

His mouth was suddenly invaded with her tongue, curling around his own tongue and squeezing it to tell him to shut up. Anne's eyes sparked and she hugged him. Sephiroth gave into her and hugged her back, his hands trailing up her nightgown.

* * *

Hojo's glasses glinted as he watched the two people finally engage in sexual intercourse.

"Finally…" he muttered as he watched while taking notes on his clipboard "Excellent, the project will be able to progress…"

His mutterings began incomprehensible as moans of pleasure filled the observation room. Hojo paid no particular attention to the whole act in front of him as he continued to scribble down notes. Everything was going according to plan and it looked like that this project was going to be a success. Only one thing did however catch his attention and concern.

"Anne…I love you."

Hojo froze as he watched Sephiroth declare love to Subject Jenova A. The two of them stared into each other's eyes before sharing a passionate and loving kiss. How was this possible? Sephiroth was not meant to feel anything for Subject Jenova A, he wasn't supposed to feel any emotion at all apart from a bit on instinctual protection over her. How could this be? His perfect experiment…unperfected!

"This is impossible!" he exclaimed as he continued to observe them.

Sephiroth wasn't supposed to know what love is. He wasn't supposed to feel any form of affection towards her. Hojo had only let them be together because he assumed that was the normal instincts for the project. …And with the hope that they'd engage in sexual intercourse eventually, which they are doing now. Hojo's glasses glinted as Sephiroth and Subject Jenova A climaxed.

* * *

Sephiroth curled around Anne lovingly, kissing her forehead softly while running his fingers through her hair. Anne smiled softly with a sigh and kissed his neck, rubbing circles on his chest with her hands. Sephiroth smiled back. This felt right. Sephiroth couldn't describe it, but it felt right to be with this woman, it was right that they'd just engaged in sexual intercourse and for some reason, Sephiroth felt that it'd be right if they did it again. His head was telling him that he wanted to engage sexual intercourse again because he'd been sexually deprived for four years. His gut told him that it was because she was different than the other partners and therefore better. His heart told him…

"Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth looked down at Anne as she rested her head on his chest. She bit her lip before staring up at him uncertainly.

"What is love?"

Sephiroth froze at the extremely awkward question. Anne loved asking awkward questions and he dealt with it fine enough. Love…was a different issue. Love was something that Sephiroth felt like he couldn't explain. He hadn't exactly experienced love before all of this but when he had uttered those three words, he hadn't been thinking straight. He'd only said them because it felt right.

"Love…love is…"

Sephiroth stuttered as he looked up at the ceiling. He should have really thought about this before saying that he loved her. He tangled his fingers in her hair and combed it absent-mindedly as he tried to think what love was.

"Love is hard to describe," he said after a while with a sigh "I just said it because I want to be with you always."

"…I love you too then."

Sephiroth looked down at her and she smiled.

"I want to always be with you," she said as she licked his nose affectionately.

This was so similar to one of Genesis's romance films, Sephiroth almost pushed her away. But remembering that it wasn't, Sephiroth hugged her tighter, resting his chin on the top of her head like usual. He closed his eyes and relished the feeling of holding her to his chest. At least she wasn't as cold as liquid nitrogen. When they first shared a night in a bed together, her skin stung him quite a bit because it was slightly colder than what he was used to.

"Um…"

Sephiroth glanced down to see Anne with her head bowed, her cheeks bright red again.

"I…I…"

She licked her lips and cheeks, her hands going down to his waist.

"Again?" Sephiroth asked with a raised eyebrow.

She nodded shyly and he smiled.

"Alright then."

Sephiroth kissed her softly as he moved on top of her.

* * *

There they go again. Hojo shrugged and turned away from the spectacle. The more they did it, the more chance that the project was going to be a success anyway. He wasn't going to interrupt them.

Hojo had suspected that Sephiroth wouldn't be able to impregnate a normal woman so he had a collection of Jenova clones just in case. Subject Jenova A was the first person to have the Jenova Operation on. She was just a mere infant when they started to work on her. They had taken cell samples from each of Jenova's organs and grew them so they could be placed into the subjects. Subject Jenova A's situation was slightly altered because she was just a small child so they put the organs in when they weren't fully developed yet. The other subjects were fully mature women, given fully mature organs. They didn't survive for more than three weeks. Hojo decided that it was because the mature organs weren't used to being in a human body, rather than being in a body like Jenova's.

Subject Jenova A grew under intensive care with the Jenova organs inside her. She matured with the organs and almost grew perfectly. She was unable to eat food so they injected the nutrients she needed into her instead. And of course, Hojo would always find the time and opportunity to experiment on her body like Sephiroth. Subject Jenova A's body altered itself on the outside just by pure nature of the organs. Hojo only found this mildly interesting, his main concern was whether she would bear Sephiroth's children or not. He would find out after this stage of the project. If she was unable to bear his children then she'd be exterminated. She'd be a complete waste of time and space if he let her live.

What would the birthing be like? Would she be able to hold more than two or three children naturally? Jenova had a womb so Hojo predicted that the children will be born like a normal woman would give birth to her children. But there was also the possibility of a different birth altogether. Will she give birth to foetuses? Will she lay eggs? Would they even exit from her vagina? There were so many possibilities to how the birthing would go along. But for now, Hojo wished to predict that she'll give birth to foetuses unless the scans say otherwise.

What would the children be like? Would they have Jenova organs like their mother and carry on their race? Would they be as strong as their father? Could they breed with one another and not suffer from any genetic diseases? Will they not be able to survive the birth and die? Well, if they do, their bodies could provide vital research for any future projects…

Another one of Hojo's concern was about her lifespan. How much longer would she be able to live? Her health status is fine, she isn't suffering from any problems whatsoever and she is still growing. Would she be able to outlive humans? Or would she have a shorter lifespan and die of natural causes? And then after death, what would happen then? Would the Lifestream accept her? Or would she be rejected because of the Jenova organs that she carries?

Subject Jenova A's lifespan was more of a concern now because of the fact Sephiroth had just proclaimed his love now. His now imperfect experiment would suffer dearly if she had a shorter lifespan than humans. Love made people weak and now that Sephiroth was weak, it'll affect his performance as SOLDIER and during his experiments. It would ruin the whole of Project S! It may even be the death of him and Hojo did not wish Sephiroth's cause of death to be over some other experiment. Hojo scribbled down one important note on his clipboard.

**Separate Subject Jenova A and Specimen S as soon as possible**


	4. Chapter 4

Sephiroth woke up with a snarl when he felt Anne being pulled out of his arms. Scientists surrounded them and he snatched Anne back from their grips and instincts told him to get out of there. He froze suddenly when he remembered the state of his nudity and rolled his eyes, gently placing Anne down and dealing with the scientists by knocking them out, using brutal force. He quickly grabbed his trousers as he heard shouts from outside the bedroom and jumped into them quickly before grabbing his coat and wrapping it around Anne. The door opened and Sephiroth sprinted past the scientists as they tried to make a grab for Anne. He powered through the science labs and crashed into the lift, hitting the floor where Zack's apartment was. The doors swung shut and Sephiroth breathed softly, leaning on one of the metal walls while cradling Anne in his arms.

Anne didn't seem to have been disturbed from the sudden drama. She slept on blissfully, her head on his shoulder. Sephiroth smiled softly and nuzzled her lovingly. Anne was such a heavy sleeper and he found it adorable. Her tongue flickered out of her mouth curiously and flicked his nose in her sleep and Sephiroth chuckled as the long red muscle retreated into her mouth. Sephiroth's attention was turned when the doors swung open and he sprinted over to Zack's apartment, rapidly knocking on the door. When there was no answer, he continuously knocked on the door.

"Alright, alright!" Zack's sleepy mumble was heard from inside the apartment "I'm coming, hold your Chocobos…"

Sephiroth immediately sprinted in Zack's apartment the moment the door cracked open, sending Zack flying backwards and into his sofa. He let out a startled yelp as he hurtled through the air and Sephiroth slammed the apartment door shut and headed for Zack's bedroom, slamming his wardrobe doors open. He set Anne down in the wardrobe and shook her awake.

"Anne," he whispered "Anne, wake up."

Anne yawned, her tongue flicking out and hitting Sephiroth's cheek as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Seph?" she mumbled, her tongue sagging and dangling out of her mouth.

"Listen, you're going to have to stay here for a while," he explained as she yawned again, swerving his head to avoid getting hit by her tongue "I have a friend here called Zack, he'll look after you."

"Why do I hath to sthay hereth?" Anne mumbled, her tongue not functioning properly with her speech.

"I sensed danger," Sephiroth could only explain the feelings that he had when he took off with Anne "Listen, I heard that you can have distilled water from the scientists and vitamin pills might be the same as being on a drip. I will tell Zack about this and he will keep you safe here, I assure you."

Anne pouted, her tongue sliding back into her mouth. Sephiroth ruffled her hair with a smile and kissed her forehead.

"I'll be back soon, I promise," he said as he took his coat back and wrapped it up in his arms to look like he was still carrying her.

Anne hunched her shoulders and nodded, sad that Sephiroth was leaving. Sephiroth smiled and stood up. Anne shyly closed the doors of the wardrobe as he turned and walked out of the bedroom to talk to Zack. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Zack had fallen asleep on the sofa and grabbed his shoulder to shake him.

"Zack!" he shouted and Zack snorted, stirring out of his sleep.

"Huh, what?" he yawned and blinked up blearily at Sephiroth "Oh hey, Seph."

Zack yawned again and Sephiroth sighed impatiently.

"Zack, pay attention!" he barked and Zack leapt to his feet with a salute.

"Sir!"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes and sighed again.

"I am leaving you a mission to protect a young woman in your apartment," he said and Zack frowned in confusion "I will explain later, all you need to do is keep her happy, providing lots of colouring pens and pencils and paper would be a good way to keep her occupied for a few hours. She can only have distilled water and I think she can eat vitamin pills, just teach her to swallow them."

"Ugh, question?"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and remained silent to listen to Zack's question.

"Where is she now?"

"She is in your bedroom wardrobe, oh, and if you have any soft white clothes to keep her warm, give them to her."

"Do they have to be white?"

"It's just to please her."

Zack tilted his head then smiled slyly.

"Seph, is this your girlfriend or something?" he asked curiously.

Sephiroth hesitated and actually paused to think about it.

"In a way, I would say she is," he said and Zack laughed.

"At least you have someone to get laid with," he cackled.

"She's only sixteen and we've only had sexual intercourse once."

Zack choked and Sephiroth turned to the door.

"I need to get the Turks off the trail," he said and ran out "I'll be back!"

The door slammed shut and Zack looked at his bedroom. He went up and opened the wardrobe.

"Heya!"

Anne squeaked in surprise and hid behind the several garments of clothes, spying on him with her bright red eyes in the darkness.

"Who are you?!" she asked and Zack stepped back with hands up in the ear.

"Well my name is Zack, may I know your name?"

Anne poked her head out and Zack smiled softly as she looked him up and down.

"Sephiroth told me that you will keep me safe," she said and Zack jumped back in alarm when her tongue came out and began poking his face curiously.

"Uh, y-yeah," Zack said and Anne jumped out of the wardrobe, looking up at him while poking his face experimentally with her tongue.

Zack looked away discretely when he noticed her state of nudity.

"I'll just look for some warm white clothes for you then?" he said and turned away to his chest of draws.

"Will they be soft?" Anne asked tilting her head to the side curiously.

"Yes, they should be soft anyway."

"Zack's a weird name," Anne giggled and Zack's eyebrow twitched.

"Isn't Sephiroth's name weird?" he asked and Anne shook her head "What's your name anyway?"

"Sephiroth calls me Anne," Anne replied as Zack handed over a large white shirt for her to put on.

She pulled it on and frowned when she noticed the buttons.

"I can't do up buttons," she said and Zack flinched inwardly.

"A-Alright, I'll do them up for you," he said as he turned and began doing up the buttons for her at a breakneck pace to avoid looking at her too much.

Anne giggled when his fingers brushed her cold skin and Zack yelped when he felt how cold she was. Anne swung her hands back and forth and nuzzled herself into the soft fabric.

"Could you come into the sitting room with me?" Zack waved her towards the sitting room and she followed with a small skip in her step.

"You're friendly," she stated and hugged him suddenly "I like you."

Zack froze and held a smile.

"Thanks," he said and reached his desk to pull out a pen and some paper "Uh, Sephiroth told me that a pen and a piece of paper would keep you happy."

He yelped when Anne's tongue shot out and grabbed the pen from his grip eagerly. She grabbed the paper and threw herself on the floor, drawing eagerly. Zack watched her scribble happily before going into the kitchen to get a bottle of distilled water out of the fridge. After pouring out a glass and going back into the sitting room, his eyes widened when he discovered her drawing on his walls and yelped.

"Hey, you're not supposed to do that!" he exclaimed and Anne turned to him curiously, blinking in confusion.

"Sephiroth lets me," she pouted and Zack glanced at the piece of paper, eyes widening when he saw that she had finished drawing a rough messy sketch of himself.

One the wall was a half drawn sketch of Sephiroth and Zack frowned.

"You certainly draw fast and you're good at it," he commented, handing her the glass of distilled water.

"I've been drawing since I was a little girl," Anne smiled widely and stuck her tongue into the glass.

Zack's eyes widened as a hole opened up from the tips of her forked tongue and she drank the water down that way. After finishing it, she turned and continued scribbling on his wall eagerly. A bit stunned, Zack sat on his sofa and watched silently.

"What are you?" he whispered in bewilderment.


	5. Chapter 5

Sephiroth paused as he saw Anne standing on the back of the sofa and drawing on the ceiling with her tongue by the time he got back. He raised an eyebrow at Zack who just watched. Rolling his eyes, he closed the door.

"I'm back."

Anne dropped her pen, jumped off the sofa and ran into his arms happily. Zack sprung back up onto his feet, watching as Sephiroth ruffled Anne's hair, embracing her softly.

"Seph," he cleared his throat.

"Zack is funny!" Anne chirruped "His name is weird and he gets scared so easily!"

"Really now?" Sephiroth smirked at Zack who shifted awkwardly on the spot.

"Seph, can I speak to you?"

Sephiroth looked up and tickled Anne's nose.

"How about you get some sleep in Zack's room?" he suggested.

"But I'm not sleepy," Anne pouted but yawned, her tongue rolling out and rubbing itself across his cheek.

Sephiroth let the tongue curl around his wrist and kissed it softly.

"Anne, your sleep was disturbed. You need some sleep."

He reached down the back of the shirt and stroked her spine. Anne relaxed into his arms immediately with a contented sigh. Zack followed Sephiroth to his bedroom as Anne was carried into the room and lain down on his bed. Anne curled up, her chest heaving as she slept. Sephiroth pushed Zack out of the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind him.

"What is it that you want to talk about?" Sephiroth asked.

"Uh, you might want to sit down because I have a few questions."

Sephiroth shrugged as he strode over to an armchair, settling in it. Zack took his place on the sofa.

"What is she?" he asked.

Sephiroth sighed tiredly, leaning back and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"She is one of Hojo's experiments," he explained "When I refused to bed her four years ago, I didn't let him take her back. We formed a bond and eventually, a few hours ago, we've engaged in sexual intercourse."

"Too much information," Zack muttered as he stared ahead rather blankly then shook his head "OK then, you said she was how old?"

"Sixteen. Hojo has had her since she was three years old."

"Oh, sort of like you then?"

"She claims that she still has memories of her real parents. So nothing like me."

Zack grimaced and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling.

"How long do I have to keep her here?"

"Until further notice. It's too dangerous for me to bring her back to our room and I frankly couldn't think of a more appropriate place."

"How about Angeal?"

"He would have said no."

"Genesis?"

"At this time of night?"

"Point taken. Cloud?"

"Who?"

"Oh yeah, you don't know him. Never mind."

Zack hunched his shoulders and stared in the direction of his bedroom. Sephiroth pulled out a bottle of pills.

"See if she can take these when she wakes," he said "How was she with distilled water?"

"Everything seemed normal if you discount the way she drank it," Zack shivered when he remembered the way she had stuck her tongue down the glass.

"How did she drink it?" Sephiroth suddenly looked intrigued.

"She drank through her tongue…"

Sephiroth hummed thoughtfully.

"That's…interesting."

"Seph, how do you live with her?" Zack asked jokingly with a chuckle.

"She's perfect, apart from her tendency to draw on something other than paper."

They shifted their gaze to Sephiroth's portrait on the wall then to the swirls and curls that decorated Zack's ceiling. Zack sighed.

"Yup, she just insisted in drawing just anywhere. Here."

He handed Sephiroth a small pile of papers. Sephiroth sifted through them, smiling warmly as he saw portraits of him, Zack, and peculiar landscapes. Sephiroth recognized some of them to be from the dreams Anne often described to him.

"That's all the paper I could find," Zack sighed tiredly.

"You're going to need a lot more," Sephiroth said and placed the papers on the coffee table "And you're going to clean up the drawings here."

"Aw, but Seph, it'll hurt her feelings!" Zack pouted.

"I know," Sephiroth sighed and shrugged "But supposing someone comes to ask you questions? This will be the evidence that she has been here."

Zack groaned and lay back.

"But that's such a nice drawing of you, you're smiling!"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes.

"I can smile, you've seen me smile at least four times since I set foot in this apartment."

"But with that drawing, you're smiling permanently!"

"Zack, if I smiled permanently, my face would freeze into that position and I will not look like I'm ready to kill on the battlefield. And it will ruin my image. And the Silver Elite will swoon."

Zack groaned and rolled his eyes.

"But I don't want to clean it up!"

"Zack…"

"You won't make me ruin a piece of art like that!"

Sephiroth then smirked and got up.

"Alright."

Zack watched Sephiroth enter the bathroom and paled.

"No!" he howled and jumped to his feet to run after him "I won't let you!"

As the men argued in the bathroom, sloshing water all over the place, Anne remained curled up on the bed, undisturbed by the noise. She sighed contently in her sleep, uncurling her body and wriggling into the covers like a cat making itself comfortable. Her stomach grumbled and gurgled in her sleep, causing her face to scrunch in discomfort. The gurgles and grumbles grew louder but didn't go as loud as Zack's yell of 'Stop being such an art critic'. Anne gasped in her sleep and the noise from her stomach died down. Humming, Anne rolled onto her side, curling her knees into her chest. Her tongue flickered out to tuck some hair out of her face as underneath Zack's shirt her breasts swelled, her nipples pinching inwards. Anne's stomach grumbled once and she opened her eyes. Sitting up, she slipped off the bed and wandered out. She heard the boys arguing and followed the noises to the bathroom, watching a drenched Zack and a less soaking Sephiroth wrestle over a bucket.

"Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth let go of the bucket abruptly, making Zack yelp in surprise and stumble into his bathtub, making the bucket of water tip and soak Zack even more.

"Anne, did we wake you?" he asked as he approached her.

"I'm hungry," Anne mumbled shyly.

"Ah, here, I have something for you to try."

Anne was led into the kitchen where Sephiroth had placed the pills and blinked when he held it out to her.

"Try swallowing this."

Anne snatched it with her tongue and placed it down her throat. She swallowed and waited. She shrugged.

"It's not coming back up," she smiled "But I'm still hungry."

"Ah…"

"Sephiroth!"

"Just a minute," Sephiroth murmured, kissing her head and running into the bathroom to wrestle with Zack more.

Anne wandered around the kitchen, discovering the fridge and opening it curiously. She blinked at the different bottles, discovering a red one. She opened the cap curiously and stuck her tongue in it. It tasted sweet and tangy. When she swallowed, she waited for it to come back up. She hadn't tried this before, only solid foods which would normally come back up. When nothing came back up, she hummed and stuck her tongue into the bottle of ketchup, drinking it dry as the guys began soaking each other while arguing.


	6. Chapter 6

"Anne! I've made your favourite soup! Come out before I eat it for you!"

"No! Don't eat it! I'm coming!"

Anne sprinted out from Zack's bedroom and into the kitchen eagerly, her tongue licking her lips hungrily. Zack found out that only solid foods came back up when she ate them so he had to give her liquids instead along with the vitamin pills. So feeding her wasn't that much of a problem, except she had a bit of a fussy taste. She seemed to like anything that was tomato based, Zack had to buy a bottle of ketchup every day to keep her satisfied.

"Thank you for this food," Anne recited as Zack had trained her to do and stuck her tongue into the bowl of tomato soup.

Zack grimaced as he watched her drink. She had been here for a week and he was still trying to get used to her…quirks. Well, it wasn't every day that he had to look after someone who wasn't exactly human. He had been trying his best to teach Anne some manners at the table, considering she never had any parents to teach her when she was younger, using a spoon instead of her tongue is going to be today's lesson.

"Anne, could you stop for a moment please?"

Anne lifted her tongue from the soup and let it slide back into her mouth. She tilted her head to the side questioningly and Zack picked up the spoon he had set next to the bowl.

"Try using this instead of your tongue to eat your soup, it will last longer," he said.

Anne stared at it with a confused frown.

"How do I do that?" she asked.

"Watch me."

Zack held up his own spoon, dipped it into his soup and brought it to his lips, drinking from it.

"OK? Now you try."

He blinked as Anne took the spoon with her tongue, spooned some soup onto it and dropped the contents into her mouth. He shook his head as she swallowed it.

"No, use your hand," Zack waved his hand for her to understand.

Anne stared at his hand before waving her own and grasping the spoon with it. She shakily copied Zack's hold on his spoon and dipped it into the soup, raising it to her lips and drinking it.

"Good girl," Zack praised and Anne smiled happily "That wasn't so bad was it?"

"Zack?"

"Yup?"

"I have a hand cramp."

"Ah," Zack chuckled as Anne put her spoon down and rubbed her hand tenderly "I'm not surprised with all the drawing you've been doing today."

Anne had been busy drawing on his bedroom walls, where no-one would see it apart from her and himself. Zack didn't like the fact that he had to clean up any drawings she drew on the ceiling or on the walls, or even on the kitchen tiles, then have to scold her. Anne looked very hurt when she found out that she wasn't allowed to draw anywhere but brightened up quite a lot when he allowed her to draw on anything in his bedroom. At the moment, she was working on a very large portrait of him and it was looking mighty handsome. They perked at the same time when they heard the apartment door open and then close.

"I've managed to get them off my trail," Sephiroth sighed tiredly.

"Sephiroth!" Anne cried happily as she jumped out of her seat and rocketed out of the kitchen.

Sephiroth smiled wearily as she jumped into his open arms and embraced her tightly.

"Have you been a good girl?" he asked and she grinned.

"Yes!" she nodded and licked his cheek affectionately.

"Anne, are you going to finish your soup?" Zack called after her.

"Yes, I am!"

Anne pulled on Sephiroth's collar, making him carry her into the kitchen and set her down by the table. Anne grabbed the spoon with her hand and continued trying to eat her soup properly. Sephiroth smiled warmly as he sat down next to her.

"So I've managed to set Tseng's Turks on the wrong trail in tracking her down," Sephiroth said in a low tone to Zack "I heard that you might be going on a mission with Tseng soon so please be careful in not spilling anything."

"Don't worry about it, your little secret is safe with me, Seph," Zack grinned confidently "No-one will find out where your little Anne is."

"Zack, do you recall the last time you said that one of my secrets was safe with you?" Sephiroth raised an unimpressed eyebrow and Zack chuckled uneasily.

"Well this one's a bit more serious isn't it?" the brunette shrugged "But don't you worry. I've grown rather attached to this kid, despite her quirks."

"Attached?"

Zack swallowed nervously when Sephiroth's aura darkened.

"Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth turned his head towards Anne and she leaned up to kiss him.

"Hey, hey, keep that stuff in the bedroom," Zack teased with a wink as Sephiroth seemed to be caught off guard but returned the kiss nonetheless "But not in my bedroom, mind you."

Sephiroth blinked as Anne pulled away and smacked his lips thoughtfully.

"Interesting," he commented.

"What?" Zack tilted his head as Anne continued eating her soup with her spoon.

"It appears that her tongue can function like an elephant's trunk," Sephiroth explained "She managed to share some of her soup with me by storing some in her tongue then releasing it into my mouth. Although, I think you've put too much salt in the soup, Zack."

"Have not! Anne loves this soup so it doesn't have too much salt in it!" Zack interjected "You just don't have any taste in the culinary arts."

"Or you just can't cook properly."

"Hey! I was taught by the best!"

"Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll do as well as your teacher."

"I can so totally top Angeal in any cooking competition!"

The men began arguing again, Anne wincing and holding her stomach when it rumbled softly.


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm back!" Zack called as he came into the apartment with Aerith.

"Zack, you're back!" Anne cried as she ran out of the bedroom to greet him.

She yelped when she saw Aerith and dove behind the sofa, staring at Aerith suspiciously from the top of it with narrowed eyes. Zack gave a reassuring smile.

"This is Aerith, Anne," he said while gesturing to the flower girl "Aerith, this is Anne."

Aerith smiled kindly to the teenager.

"Nice to meet you," she said.

Anne hissed warily.

"Aerith is a funny name," she grumbled.

Zack chuckled.

"She's not too keen in meeting strangers," he explained and Aerith giggled.

"I'm not a stranger, Anne," she said as she slowly advanced to her "I'm Zack's friend."

Anne still hissed and stared at her warily, crawling away from Aerith when she came closer.

"Aerith, you need to let her come to you to gain her trust," Zack took Aerith's hand and led her away "Aerith's going to make us lunch today, Anne."

Anne hissed in displeasure and Zack grinned nervously as they went into the kitchen.

"She'll get used to you, don't worry," he said as they unpacked their shopping bags "Hopefully your stew will gain you brownie points."

"I think she looks cute," Aerith commented and looked over her shoulder "And a bit quirky."

Zack turned his head to see Anne watching them from the doorway, her tongue waving in the air as if to try and taste Aerith's scent.

"You'll get used to her eventually, don't worry," he whispered.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

When Aerith turned around fully, Anne scarpered back behind the sofa, hissing warily when Aerith came out with something.

"Anne, I heard that you like soft white clothes," she smiled kindly.

Anne went silent, staring at her with suspicious red eyes when Aerith unfolded her dress.

"I thought you might want to wear my spare dress," she held up a white dress with blue ribbons, similar to the one she was wearing now "I'll just leave it here so you can look at it."

She placed it on Zack's armchair and walked back into the kitchen. Anne stared at it thoughtfully, as if it might explode or turn into a monster or something. She slowly crawled over the sofa, crawled across the living room and sat herself in front of the dress. She hissed in disappointment when she realised that it wasn't completely pure white. She carefully began feeling the rim of the skirt and rubbed it against her cheek when she thought that it was soft enough to wear. She turned her head suddenly and Zack and Aerith ducked out of view from their watching places by the kitchen door. Hissing questioningly, Anne shrugged and began taking off Zack's shirt, throwing it onto the sofa and stood up. She carefully picked the dress up and slipped it on her, hissing happily when it fit her. Aerith smiled from her place and left her to examine the dress further.

"I'm glad she likes it," she said as Zack chopped up the vegetables.

"Does she have it on?" Zack asked while she got down the saucepans to fill with water.

"Yes, it suits her," Aerith smiled as she turned around to go to the sink.

She jumped slightly when she saw Anne right in front of her, looking up at her with scrutinizing glowing red eyes.

"You're different to Zack and Sephiroth and everyone else," she commented.

"Am I?" Aerith tilted her head.

"The first thing is that you have breasts like me," Anne said and pulled Aerith's dress down to take a look.

"Anne!" Zack exclaimed as he dropped his knife and quickly pulled Aerith's dress up "We do not do that to other women!"

Anne shrugged and looked up at Aerith who had slightly flushed cheeks now.

"And you…just feel different."

Anne shrugged and smiled.

"Thank you for buying me a pretty dress," she said and hugged her gratefully.

Aerith smiled and hugged her back.

"Aw, you're sweet," she commented and Anne hissed happily.

"Aerith may be a funny name but it sounds pretty," she chirruped "Because you're pretty."

"Aw, Anne you're pretty too," Aerith complimented back.

"Sephiroth says I'm cute because Anne's a cute name," Anne smiled.

"And you are cute, the cutest little…teenager I've had the pleasure in meeting."

"Now, Anne, we're cooking lunch," Zack said while Anne poked and prodded Aerith curiously with her tongue "Aren't you hungry?"

Anne froze when her stomach grumbled and pouted.

"Aw…"

Anne wasn't allowed in the kitchen while someone was cooking, not since she cut herself with one of Zack's knives then burnt her hand on something. Zack held up a new drawing pad and a new set of colouring pens which made her perk up happily.

"Why don't you go and draw Aerith some pretty pictures?" he suggested and Anne grabbed the utensils eagerly, throwing herself through the kitchen door and onto the sofa, scribbling away happily.

Aerith simpered as she heard the pens scratching against the paper and smiled at Zack.

"She's just so adorable," she squealed and filled the saucepan with water "I think she could be my little sister, what do you think?"

"If you're suggesting that you have a long forked tongue hidden in that mouth and suspicious looking blue spots on your thighs then yeah, I think you could be sisters," Zack grinned mischievously, making Aerith frown.

He sighed wistfully while picking up his knife and continued chopping the vegetables after giving it a quick rinse.

"Two weeks she's been here and I feel like she's _my _little sister," he murmured "I've always wanted one but we were always too poor to feed just the three of us."

"If you want, I could take her off your hands for a while," Aerith suggested.

"You're going to have to consult with Seph on that, he'll murder me if I let her out of this apartment without him knowing," Zack raised an eyebrow "And would your mum be alright with that?"

"Of course, I'm not entirely sure if she would mind Anne's…quirkiness but I'm sure she wouldn't mind looking after her," Aerith shrugged.

"Well, let me give you a head's up. She'll draw on anything that she can find, she can only consume liquids and she's been locked up in a lab since she was three so she's dead curious."

Aerith cooed softly.

"Aw, she's just like a child," she murmured "We should get married so we can adopt her."

Zack chuckled.

"Seph will not be happy," he warned.

"We can convince him," Aerith giggled.

As the couple laughed and joked further about married life, Anne scribbled a picture of her and Aerith holding hands. She winced, dropping her pen and rubbed her stomach tenderly.

"Zack!" she wailed "My stomach hurts!"

"You're probably just hungry!" Zack shouted and a bottle of ketchup was tossed out of the kitchen.

Anne snatched the bottle, ripped the cap off and began drinking eagerly. The cramps in her stomach ceased eventually but unbeknownst to Anne, they would come back very soon.


End file.
